"Star Trek Beyond" Is Some of the Most Fun You'll Have at the Movies this Summer

   The third installment in the newly rebooted Star Trek franchise Star Trek Beyond hits theaters today and let me just start by saying that this third film is the best of the three. Hands down. Now, that was a hard decision to come to. I thoroughly enjoy these new Star Trek films. 2009's Star Trek blew me away, being able to capture the magic of Star Trek while infusing new blood into the franchise. Star Trek Into Darkness, though received with mixed reviews, was epic, fun and heightened the awesomeness from the first one. The biggest complaint I've heard is that with the use of altering the timeline in the first movie, giving  you the opportunity to tell new stories, the re-hashing of Khan was underwhelming. Beyond is very much its own story. It's a blast. The cast is great, the production is wonderful, and with J.J. Abrams involved in any form or fashion, you can't go wrong. Since he switched over to the Star Wars universe, Abrams has relinquished his director's cap for a producer's cap for this film. Justin Lin, the man behind the growing success of the Fast and Furious franchise, takes the director's chair for Beyond and does a fantastic job. Despite what the trailers may lack, this film is reminiscent of Star Trek of old and it's absolutely enjoyable.

    Set approximately three years after the event of Into Darkness, The USS Enterprise crew is tasked to explore the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy named Krall (Idris Elba) who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test. What's great about this story is that the enterprise gets destroyed and the crew is separated and stranded on a planet. It's a smaller, more contained story in the midst of a giant film. Simon Pegg (Scotty) actually wrote this movie; being a huge fan of the franchise, you can see the love and respect put into it as the story progresses. Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) faces his most deadliest enemy to date: self-doubt. The vastness of space has left him questioning whether helming a starship is really for him anymore. The plot device is used in just about every film so far. However, it's not so much the trials and tribulations that cause him to doubt (he's proven time and again that he can handle just about anything), but it's questioning his relevancy in light of greater captains, doubting his resolve. This adds a new level of drama to the mix, especially when the growing threat from Krall comes to fruition.

   I'm not going to break down every performance because the cast of this film is vast and it would take forever. That being said, there are some great character moments that I found really fun. Though Kirk and Spock (Zachary Quinto) are typically the dynamic duo, Spock and Bones (Karl Urban) are stranded together when the Enterprise goes down, and their time together is really entertaining. They both have some really great dialogue as well as some humorous moments that really stick out. Those two together kinda stole the show for me. The only other "duo" that might rival them is Scotty and Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), an alien stranded on the same planet. Scotty is saved by Jaylah and they form an unlikely friendship that is funny, but also kind of endearing. These are just two examples of really great moments all throughout. Again, all members of the cast do a great job all around. It was particularly great to see the late Anton Yelchin (Chekov) do his thing; a talent that will sorely be missed.

   The story is engaging, fast-paced, and moving. The action in particular is really great. Justin Lin is no stranger to action, given his work with the Fast and Furious franchise. This film felt like a giant Star Trek episode, which was awesome. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first time the franchise is really branching out to tell original stories, and this type of storytelling is what's going to keep this franchise going. It's this aspect, coupled with the great cast and crew that worked on this film, and the great storytelling and overall execution, that puts Beyond just slightly over the others for me. I love all these films, but if I had to choose only one to watch, Star Trek Beyond would be my first choice, hands down.